US Wage Growth Slows In November, Up 1.2% Year Over Year

According to job site Glassdoor, the annual median base pay in the United States grew 1.2 percent year over year in November 2017 to $51,059. The Glassdoor Local Pay Reports show pay growth ticked down from a revised 1.5 percent growth last month. Pay growth peaked in January 2017 at a revised 3.5 percent.

The Glassdoor Local Pay Reports provide a unique monthly view into the country's wage picture with salary estimates for nearly 85 job titles and year-over-year pay growth trends in the United States. The reports include details on 10 major metros: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

"U.S. wage growth is sluggish and November recorded the slowest pace of growth in the past three years. Despite being eight years into an economic expansion, salary increases are not where they should be and workers' paychecks are not growing alongside overall improvements in the economy. While we are seeing bright spots in e-commerce and healthcare, these areas alone are not enough to create a positive overall picture for American wages," said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist of Glassdoor.

Low Paid Workers Seeing Big Salary IncreasesLow-paying positions were among the jobs seeing the biggest YOY wage gains in November. Food service roles, including restaurant cook (up 4.2 percent to $28,452) and barista (up 3.8 percent to $24,563), as well as bank teller (up 3.5 percent to $28,676) were in the top 10 fastest pay gains this month.

Chamberlain noted, "We are experiencing a 17-year low unemployment rate today, which means there are fewer candidates competing for jobs at all levels. Salary increases among some of the lowest paying positions suggests the low-skill labor market is tightening and employers who are struggling to fill open roles are beginning to offer higher pay to attract workers."

Holiday Demands Continue to Impact Retail Salary Outlook Holiday shopping and online retailer growth continue to help drive salary increases among retail roles. Brick-and-mortar positions, including cashiers (up 3.5 percent to $27,620) and store managers (up 2.9 percent to $48,388), have seen positive growth over the last two months. Online retailers, like Amazon and Walmart, are pushing an uptick in back-end operations wages as demand for these roles continues to climb. Salaries are on the rise for warehouse associates (up 3.9 percent to $42,282), truck drivers (up 3.8 percent to $52,945), and delivery driver (up 3.0 percent to $37,907).

"As the holiday season continues, we anticipate salaries among retail roles to continue to grow, especially as online retailers expand their footprint. We are seeing an increase in online shopping – this year, shoppers spent a record $5 billion on Black Friday alone.2 In turn, the need for operations and delivery staff is on the rise and that is fueling an uptick in wages for these workers," said Chamberlain.

Healthcare Wages Continue to RiseRapid wage growth in the healthcare sector continued this month, with positions like medical technologist (up 4.0 percent to $54,625) and emergency medical technician (up 2.7 percent to $34,994) seeing the biggest increase. Similar to October's Local Pay Reports, insurance agents (up 4.1 percent to $41,636) are also seeing growth given their understanding of both health and life insurance, especially tailored to the country's population of aging Baby Boomers. There are more than 804,000 open jobs in the healthcare industry on Glassdoor.

"Among the nine healthcare positions we track, pay is rising faster than the national average for the majority. These roles are often highly specialized and require unique skills and training. Thanks to healthcare labor shortages in many cities across the U.S., this translates to increased bargaining power and better offers for workers in a variety of healthcare fields," continued Chamberlain.

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